Poland passes bill allowing border guards to fire at illegal migrants
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This new legislation “will allow the border and other places to be protected even better, even more efficiently, while also increasing the safety of the Polish soldier," Poland's President stated
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A group of migrants walk along the Belarusian-Polish border in Belarus' Grodno region on November 12, 2021. (AFP)
Polish President Andrzej Duda signed legislation expanding the use of weapons by the military, police force, and border guards while exempting them from criminal liability for using live fire, his office said.
The "Act on Support for the Activities of Soldiers and Officers" was approved on Wednesday during the Armed Forces Day celebration, Head of the Presidential Office Malgorzata Paprocka announced on Thursday.
The new legislation enables the military to conduct operations during peacetime and implements new regulations for firearm use in these situations by the security forces.
The bill also amends the Polish Criminal Code providing criminal immunity for soldiers at the border, allowing them to fire their weapons to protect their lives or those of other persons.
This legislation “will allow the border and other places to be protected even better, even more efficiently, while also increasing the safety of the Polish soldier," Duda stated.
Controversy
The Polish parliament, the Sejm, passed the bill in mid-July after a soldier succumbed to his wounds after being stabbed by a migrant through the Poland-Belarus border fence. Additionally, in June, three Polish soldiers were arrested for firing warning shots at the border, where two of them were accused of endangering the lives of others and abuse of power.
Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, urged Warsaw against implementing these new policies through a letter, stating “international law requires states to reduce as far as possible the adverse consequences of the use of force.”
The leader of the Left parliamentary group, Anna Maria Zukowska, also criticized the new bill since it violates the Polish constitution, which emphasizes the principle law of protecting human life and not the border.
The Poland-Belarus border crisis
The origins of this issue trace back to mid-2021, when tens of thousands of migrants amassed along the borders of Belarus with Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania in an effort to enter the European Union.
Polish authorities responded by tightening border controls, deploying military personnel, and accusing Belarus of instigating the migrant crisis.
At its peak, Poland deployed about 15,000 soldiers along the border with Belarus, in addition to police and border guards, and imposed a state of emergency in the region.
Moreover, the EU accused Belarus of encouraging thousands of people fleeing war-torn parts of the world to try to cross its borders and threatened to impose new sanctions on Minsk and airlines that transport migrants.
Poland eventually closed its borders with Belarus, an action that was met by condemnation from Minsk.
Minsk, on its part, accused Warsaw of exploiting the migrant situation to forcefully repel migrants into Belarusian territory.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry summoned Poland's charge d'affaires to condemn Warsaw's decision to close one of its three existing border crossings with Belarus as "unilateral" and "inhumane".
"All responsibility for the deterioration of the conditions for the operations of their carriers lies with the initiator of the restrictive measures, that is the current government of Poland," a Belarusian Foreign Ministry statement said.
